• PREVIOUS EDITIONS OF THE CHANGE CAMPAIGN

All around the world, individuals and organisations stand up for gender equality, for equal rights despite one’s sexual identity or behaviour, for better access to family planning services, etc. With CHanGE we want to highlight and amplify these initiatives.

We strongly believe in the expertise of these local and regional organisations. Under the impetus of the participants of CHanGE, we celebrate their work and show how gender equality and sexual and reproductive health and rights are first and foremost global challenges.

Campaign 2021

The destinations for CHanGE 2021 were Mexico, Lebanon and Greece. Although the participants of CHanGE did not arrive in these countries with a certain set of questions, or even a theme, in mind, their experiences in their respective countries (and around the globe, due to the COVID-19 pandemic) offered the idea to focus on care.

Who Cares. Mind if we do?

Large parts of health care are both not adapted to adequately provide care for mental health nor for an inclusive approach to physical care. The campaign of Who Cares. Mind if we do? highlights the progressions organisations and activists have made abroad, as well as addressing the problems that still exist in Belgium.

Campaign 2020

In 2020, the participants of CHanGE could not travel abroad due to COVID-19. Instead, they dived into local and global challenges regarding gender equality by learning from Belgian organisations and activists. This resulted in an online campaign.

THE/DECONSTRUCT BINARISM

This campaign zoomed in on how gender binarism, the idea that there are only two genders, hides a complex reality and affects us all. During the online events, we thought about how to make our society more inclusive and our thinking about gender less restrictive.

Campaign 2019

THE MIGRATION EDITION

The participants of CHanGE of 2019 travelled in small groups to Lebanon, Morocco and Uganda. They focused on the complex realities of gender equality and sexual reproductive health and rights (SRHR) in a refugee context.

COME IN OUT

Many LGBT+ people are left with no other option than to migrate to another country. It may sound simple, but LGBT+ migration is a complex story filled with difficulties and paradoxes. Appalled by the injustices that occur with LGBT+ migration, but impressed by the work of organisations and activists all around the globe, this campaign came to existence: Come In Out – Complexities of LGBT+ Migration. From stories about homo- and transphobic policy in countries of origin to difficult migration routes. From stereotypical asylum procedures to discrimination on the rental market. From what isn’t going well to what we can do better.

Campaign 2018

‘SexWorks?!’

Sex work consists of more than only window prostitution and private brothels which we pass by, looking away, on our way home. It is a buzzword of which different aspects stay underexposed and are too often linked to criminality.

In the fall of 2018, the participants of CHanGE by UCOS organized the SexWorks?! festival to break with taboos surrounding sex work. With stories of sex workers and caregivers from Uganda, Cuba and India they make the connection with the reality in Belgium.

COLLABORATIONS 2018

>> The Uganda Youth and Adolescents Health Forum (UYAHF) is an organisation for and by youngsters who campaign for sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR), gender equality and the prevention of violence against women and girls.

>> The national centre for sexual education, Centro Nacional de Educación Sexual (CENESEX), is a research and educational institute in Cuba that focusses on gender and sexuality. One of their objectives is to narrow the gap between activists and policy makers.

>> The humanist organisation Arthik Samata Mandal (Union for Economical Equality) is situated in Vijayawada, one of the biggest cities in the southern Indian state Andhra Pradesh. Inspired by the ideas of Gandhi, they assembled as aid workers in 1977 to help victims after a heavy hurricane and tsunami.

Campaign 2017

LGBT+-RIGHTS

We all have the right to be treated as equals, regardless of our gender identity or sexuality. However, many people have to face discrimination or violence on the basis of who they are. Being lesbian, homosexual, bisexual, transsexual or queer is in many places worldwide still perceived as a crime.

Fighting for freedom to express one’s sexual orientation, often involves risks and dangers. However, both in the South as in Belgium there are individuals and organisations who strive everyday to make sure that this right is guaranteed and taboos are being broken.

PERIOD.

Most women at their reproductive age menstruate every month. It is a very natural part of life, though in many places worldwide it is associated with taboos and sociocultural or religious boundaries. Due to this, girls participate less in education during their menstruation, unsanitary practices can lead to health risks, and menstruation is accompanied with experiences of pain and shame. Moreover, often there is limited access to affordable products for feminine hygiene.

To break with taboos and to get access to products for feminine hygiene, it is essential to make sure women are not excluded. When striving for gender equality it is important to guarantee affordable access to (sustainable) alternatives, to share correct information and to break the silence, both in Belgium as in the South.

COLLABORATIONS 2017

>> The Maison de la Laicité de Kinshasa (MLK) is a humanist forum in Kinshasa (DR Congo). It is an umbrella organisation with many members, including different women groups and health organisations.

>> Our partner in Kampala (Uganda) is HALEA (Humanist Association for Leadership, Equity and Accountability), which works around strengthening the life skills of young people and supporting teenage mothers.

>> TARSHI (Talking about Reproductive and Sexual Health Issues) is an Indian NGO based in New Delhi. Through trainings, publications, and awareness raising, they enable people to expand their sexual and reproductive freedom of choice from a rights-based perspective.

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